Contributors

Friday, January 05, 2007

The Kids and the Future

What it's all about.

The home dirt felt good beneath my feet.

My trip back to Lansing came at the perfect time for me, and came through at the exact pitch I was looking for. Six days of family hospitality, family conversation, family introductions have left me rested and recharged for 2007.

The highlight, and general theme of the trip, was kids. Specifically, my two nieces, Ivie and Elly Kirby, whom I'd never met. These two impossibly well-behaved little shavers stole every scene they were in. Especially Ivie, who has the advantage over her little sister of being able to walk and talk. It was fascinating to witness the energy level rise at family gatherings when you throw in a couple children. The conversations were livelier, and no one was nearly as sedentary, considering Ivie’s predilection for climbing up and down the stairs, repeat, ad infinitum.

The family Christmas on New Year’s Eve day was the best. Normally, my step family slows the present-opening process to a ritualistic pace, one sibling opening a present … then another … then another … zzz. But this year, Ivie Kirby ran a clinic on how Christmas is supposed to go down: She grabbed a present, sprinted to the middle of the room, tore open the present, held it up for everyone’s approval, then dove right back in. The entire family followed suit. Christmas was over in 15 minutes. It was great! The room was a mess of presents and wrapping paper, everyone was jabbering on about what they’d gotten, and the midget blue-eyes toddled about all the chaos. This, friends, is Christmas.

Other highlights of the trip included:

Seeing Sister, who has not picked up an English accent

Visiting my grandparents’ new place in East Lansing, which looks like their Grosse Pointe home in miniature

Watching old, embarrassing family videos

Eating

Helping my pop buy a laptop

Seeing various Lansing friends, although not as many as I would have liked

Stomping around the old neighborhood

Taking the Michigan Flyer shuttle back to Metro. It’s the only way to go!

As I said, all this goodness has my raring to go in the new year. Let’s make this the best 2007 ever!